Associate Director Legal

Associate Director – Legal | Group Legal

Location: Mumbai
Experience: 9–12 years of relevant legal experience

Role Overview
Crisil is seeking an experienced lawyer to join its Group Legal function as an Associate Director – Legal, supporting legal matters across Crisil's businesses globally.
The role will have a strong focus on employment law, providing day-to-day legal advisory and support on employment-related matters across multiple jurisdictions. The successful candidate will partner closely with Human Resources, business leaders and other functional stakeholders on employment law issues, workplace matters, employee relations, and employment-related risk.
In addition to employment law, the role will support vendor contracting and information security-related legal matters across Crisil Corporate functions , including technology, admin, Finance, HR, CSR team, including negotiation and review of strategic vendor agreements and related contractual risks.
This is an individual contributor role requiring a hands-on lawyer who can independently manage matters, work across functions and geographies, and provide practical, commercially oriented legal advice.
The ideal candidate is likely to come from a large IT/ITeS, technology business, with significant exposure to employment law and experience supporting a global workforce. Candidates from BFSI and other regulated sectors may also be considered where they have substantial experience.

Key Responsibilities
1. Global Employment Law & HR Advisory
•    Provide day-to-day legal advice to HR and business stakeholders on a broad range of employment law matters across India and international jurisdictions. 
•    Advise on employee lifecycle matters including hiring, employment terms, transfers, promotions, performance management, disciplinary actions, exits, terminations and separation arrangements. 
•    Advise on complex employee relations matters, workplace issues, grievances, , investigations and disciplinary proceedings. 
•    Support HR and business teams on employment-related disputes, claims and litigation, working with external counsel where required. 
•    Review and advise on employment contracts, offer letters, policies, employee handbooks, confidentiality agreements, restrictive covenants and other employment documentation. 
•    Advise on employment law implications of organisational restructuring, workforce changes, business transfers, outsourcing and other strategic initiatives. 
•    Partner with HR on the development, review and implementation of employment policies and processes across jurisdictions. 
•    Advise on local employment law requirements and coordinate with external counsel on jurisdiction-specific matters where required. 
•    Identify employment-related legal and regulatory risks and provide practical, business-oriented recommendations. 
2. Vendor Contracting
•    Draft, review and negotiate agreements with technology vendors, IT service providers, consultants, outsourcing partners and other strategic suppliers. 
•    Manage the legal aspects of vendor relationships from contract negotiation through execution and, where required, renewal or termination. 
•    Ensure appropriate contractual protections around confidentiality, data protection, information security, intellectual property, service levels, business continuity and liability. 
•    Partner with procurement, information security, technology and business teams to assess and manage contractual risks. 
•    Support negotiations with global vendors and manage legal issues arising during the vendor lifecycle. 
3. General Legal Advisory
•    Provide day-to-day legal support across Crisil's businesses and corporate functions on matters falling within the role's areas of responsibility. 
•    Identify legal and regulatory risks and provide clear, practical and commercially appropriate advice. 
•    Work closely with senior HR, business, technology, information security, procurement and other functional stakeholders. 
•    Manage external counsel on specific matters where specialist or jurisdiction-specific advice is required. 
•    Support senior members of the Group Legal team on strategic or high-risk matters as required. 
4. Legal Processes & Governance
•    Support the development and continuous improvement of legal templates, policies, playbooks and standard positions. 
•    Help establish consistent approaches to employment, vendor contracting and information-security-related legal matters across the organisation. 
•    Maintain appropriate documentation, trackers and records for legal matters. 
•    Contribute to initiatives aimed at improving legal processes, turnaround times and stakeholder experience. 
•    Support the roll out of Crisil's contract management tool

Skills & Competencies
•    9–12 years of relevant post-qualification legal experience, with significant exposure to employment law and corporate legal advisory. 
•    LLB from a reputed university.
•    Strong hands-on experience advising on employment law matters across multiple jurisdictions, preferably in a global organisation. 
•    Significant experience partnering with HR and senior business stakeholders on complex employee relations, disciplinary, termination, restructuring and employment-risk matters. 
•    Experience reviewing and negotiating technology/vendor agreements, particularly with IT, SaaS, outsourcing or technology service providers. 
•    Strong understanding of contractual provisions relating to information security, data protection, privacy, confidentiality and cybersecurity. 
•    Experience working in a global IT/ITeS, technology, SaaS, fintech or technology-enabled organisation would be strongly preferred. 
•    Candidates from BFSI or other regulated sectors will also be considered where they have substantial exposure to technology/IT businesses and global employment matters. 
•    Ability to independently manage matters across multiple businesses, functions and jurisdictions. 
•    Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to advise senior HR and business leaders. 
•    Practical, commercially minded approach to legal risk. 
•    High level of ownership, attention to detail and ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, matrixed environment. 
•    Comfortable working as an individual contributor with limited supervision.